High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is bad; lowering cholesterol is good for our health. So, we’re led to believe. Low and high cholesterol levels are perceived to reflect our diet or genes, to one extent or another. Chances are we know at least one person on cholesterol lowering drugs e.g. lipitor or atorvastatin.
Fast Fact: 75% OF PEOPLE who have a HEART ATTACK have NORMAL CHOLESTEROL [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#heartdisease”]75% of people who have a heart attack have normal #cholesterol [/tweetthis]
Liposcan HDL & LDL Subfractions is a new procedure that determines actual heart attack risk by means of differentiated analysis of HDL and LDL subfractions.
Cholesterol Levels
The clinical value of the Liposcan Test lies in the readings it gives you.
Liposcan is a unique fat metabolism test. It identifies and differentiates all cholesterol particles quantitatively by their size. This is the first test of its time.
Liposcan tells us for the first time:
- Small, dense LDL – are they high? If you lower bad cholesterol (LDL) but have a low HDL (good cholesterol) there is no benefit in your taking statins. (i)
- Differentiations between IDL and LDL and the large, less artherogenic LDL and VLDL
- Subfractions of LDL1 LDL2 LDL3 LDL4 LDL5 LDL6 LDL7
- These are non-pathogenic/pathogenic – by size, the small particles LDL3-7 carry a significant heart attack risk potential. This is due to their higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids meaning they can be oxidised easier, which further increases their aggressiveness.
- The protective HDL as LDL/HDL quotient i.e. indicates actual protective effect of the HDL
If high quantities of atherogenic LDL particles have actually been found, there will be the possibility to identify the cause of these findings. Nearly half of patients without heart attack have high cholesterol levels. Which type of cholesterol is elevated and which size the distribution particles have give us parameters for risk assessment and will tell us what is the best therapy for you.
High Cholesterol
Cure For Cholesterol
Our functional approach to treatment is your Naturopathic Portfolio. This is personalised nutrition. Susannah takes the effect of lipid lowering drugs or statins. She uses your lifestyle as the canvas for change. Your routines and your habits are reformed. Your work other life demands will not change. Life is not a luxury spa. Our modern environment needs to work for us. This does not happen overnight. Our time the food you eat and the choices you make become easier. It is encouraging that you feel and see results from the start.
Low Cholesterol
Get the right treatment. Prevent disease. Prevent this disease from being passed on to future generations. Do you think you have true High Cholesterol levels that predispose you to myocardial disease? First, understand the physiological process that links high cholesterol to a heart attack.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced by the liver that is used to help perform thousands of bodily functions. The body uses it to help build your cell membranes, the covering of your nerve sheaths, and much of your brain. It is a key building block for our hormone production. Without cholesterol we are not be able to maintain adequate levels of testosterone, oestrogen, progesterone and cortisol.
People with the lowest cholesterol as they age are in fact at highest risk of death. Under certain circumstances, high cholesterol or higher cholesterol can actually help increase life span.
Think there is 36% reduction in risk of having a heart attack using lipid lowering drugs or statins ..? Think again. The touted “36% reduction” actually means a reduction of the number of people getting heart attacks or death from 3% to 2% (or about 30-40%)
If you are a healthy woman with high cholesterol, there is no proof that taking statins reduces your risk of heart attack or death.(ii) If you lower bad cholesterol (LDL) but don’t reduce inflammation (marked by a test called C-reactive protein), there is no benefit to statins. (iii) Keep reading…
Heart disease is not only about cholesterol. It is important to look at many factors that contribute to your overall risk. And it seems that insulin and blood sugar imbalances, and inflammation are proving to be more of a risk that cholesterol. At Susannah Makram Clinics our CardioMetabolic Profile Panel provides an assessment of: Disease risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral arterial disease), metabolic syndrome.
Low Cholesterol Diet
The Right Test = The Right Treatment.
High Cholesterol
Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Your total cholesterol should be under 200. Your triglycerides should be under 100. Your HDL should be over 60. Your LDL should be ideally under 80. Your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL should be less than 3.0. Your ratio of triglycerides to HDL should be no greater than 4, which can indicate insulin resistance if elevated.
Cardiometabolic Combination Panel – Blood Sugar
Haemoglobin (Hb)A1c – DBS. measures whether target levels of blood sugar control have been achieved and your average blood sugar level over 6-12 week period. Anything over 5.5 is high. Glycated haemoglobin indicates poorly controlled blood sugar.
Glucose Insulin Tolerance Test. Testing your blood sugar levels are not the same thing. Most clinics just check blood sugar and not insulin, which is the first thing to go up. Measurements of fasting and 1 and 2 hour levels of glucose AND insulin helps identify pre-diabetes and excessively high levels of insulin and even diabetes. By the time your blood sugar levels go up, you have missed the boat which is why we measure:
Fasting Insulin – DBS. At Susannah Makram clinics this is an assessment of insulin resistance, diabetes and heart disease risk (via a measure of insulin resistance).
Cardio C-reactive protein. This is a marker of inflammation in the body that is essential to understand in the context of overall risk. Your C-reactive protein level should be less than 1.
Inflammation is a key contributor to heart disease. A major study done at Harvard found that people with high levels of a marker called C-reactive protein (CRP) had higher risks of heart disease than people with high cholesterol. Normal cholesterol levels were NOT protective to those with high CRP. The risks were greatest for those with high levels of both CRP and cholesterol.
Homocysteine. Your homocysteine measures your folate status and should be between 6 and 8.
(i)Barter P, Gotto AM, LaRosa JC, Maroni J, Szarek M, Grundy SM, Kastelein JJ, Bittner V, Fruchart JC; Treating to New Targets Investigators. HDL cholesterol, very low levels of LDL cholesterol, and cardiovascular events. N Engl J Med. 2007 Sep 27;357(13):1301-10.
(ii) Abramson J, Wright JM. Are lipid-lowering guidelines evidence-based? Lancet. 2007 Jan 20;369(9557):168-9
(iii) Ridker PM, Danielson E, Fonseca FA, Genest J, Gotto AM Jr, Kastelein JJ, Koenig W, Libby P, Lorenzatti AJ, MacFadyen JG, Nordestgaard BG, Shepherd J, Willerson JT, Glynn RJ; JUPITER Study Group. Rosuvastatin to prevent vascular events in men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. N Engl J Med. 2008 Nov 20;359(21):2195-207.
